Celebrating 60 Years at Chichester College 

An article in the Evening News from August 1964 heralded the construction of our striking building, which cost an estimated £487,000, as being a future landmark which would be as familiar as the City Cross or the Cathedral – and this has rung true – our front entrance, with its angular roof, remaining largely unchanged throughout the decades.  
  
From the outset, Chichester College was celebrated as one of the most modern institutions in the country.  
  
Our teaching facilities were designed to replicate real working conditions, a pioneering approach that set us apart. Early advertisements in local newspapers highlighted our state-of-the-art facilities and our commitment to the community, urging residents to embrace the new college with the promise that ‘a better education means a fuller life.’  
  
We started with 400 full-time students, we have grown enormously. 
 
Today, we proudly serve more than 7,000 students a year, offering a diverse range of full-time and part-time courses, including programmes for adult learners and apprentices. 

In the decades that have passed, the college has grown. From 400 full-time students in that first year, the college now hosts more than 8,000 students throughout the year – across full-time and part-time courses, including adult learners and apprentices. 
 
New blocks have been added, with new facilities to provide additional training developments. This includes a small working theatre – Riverside Theatre – which opened in 1995 and regularly welcomes shows by the college’s performing arts and dance students, from dramatic plays to musical theatre productions all supported by stage management students. 
 
In 2013, the college opened G-Block – a dedicated construction facility with specialist workshops to provide training in the various disciplines of this vital industry – from bricklaying to carpentry, electronics to plumbing. 
 
The Lee Stafford Hair Salon, Oasis Beauty Spa and 64 Restaurant are all open to the public too – offering fantastic services to residents across Chichester, who can say they’ve played a key role in the development of these aspiring chefs, stylists and beauty therapists.  
 
64 Restaurant has undergone significant changes in recent years, after investment saw the training restaurant and kitchens completely refurbished and refitted in 2016 – light airy kitchens, the latest industry technology combines with traditional kitchen equipment to provide a varied training experience – and it’s worked too. Chefs have left the college and gone on to carve out some fantastic careers at some of the best restaurants including The Dorchester in London. These amazing alumni return regularly to share their experience with today’s students through masterclasses and takeover events. 
 
Chichester College still prides itself on offering young people the opportunity to study in facilities that replicate industry, investing in new technology and working with industries to ensure the curriculum offered meets their needs.

In 2025, Chichester College will open a brand new STEM and HE (Higher Education) Centre in the heart of the campus. 
 
This four-storey building, costing more than £26million, will be home to a suite of modern teaching and interactive spaces.  On the ground floor, modern automotive workshops will house facilities enabling students to train with electric and hybrid vehicle technology, as well as petrol and diesel vehicles. The first floor will house dedicated suites for engineering and computing and the second floor will host an array of modern science laboratories. 
 
The top floor will be a dedicated HE centre, with study spaces designed to meet the needs of students across a range of university-level courses. 
 
Sustainability is also key to the building’s design, reinforcing Chichester College Group’s journey towards Net Carbon Zero. It will use technology that reduces carbon emissions and generates sustainable energy. 
 
The facility has been funded by a grant from the Department for Education, alongside capital funding from the Office for Students for a Higher Education Centre.